is a classic line from the brilliant Eddie Izzard or, put another way “if  you’re a musician, then you’d better be good….”.

This sentiment wasn’t lost on me when I attended the SF Music Tech Summit in San Francisco earlier this week and was one nugget of advice from the Marketing Convergence panel to budding musicians wanting to promote their wares. Whilst I didn’t find that particular panel overly useful for where I am right now, there was a ton of really cool stuff going on that warrants some verbiage!

The aforementioned marketing panel was really more used to dealing with the likes of Janet Jackson and other such luminaries and put forth such ideas as aligning your brand (i.e., you) with such other major brands such as BMW or Lear Jets and the like. Well, that’s great if you happen to be Janet Jackson but if you are Bob Jackson, playing clubs in your local downtown then it’s pretty much not going to happen.

It was my first time attending this particular conference and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the advice from the convergence marketing panel, whilst out of my league, actually did shine light on what a heavy duty marketing team can do for the big guns.

So, just to prove I was listening and not updating my FB status, here are some things I took away with me (in no particular order):

• promoting the artist as a brand
  something that maybe some artists do not currently see themselves as, however you are a brand and one that needs promoting in the same way as any other brand. The use of MySpace as an artist website was also called into question, and quite rightly so IMHO. It’s low rent and while, I guess, musicians feel they HAVE to be on it, it’s not an great solution. Getting your own domain name and having a decent website outside of MySpace is what gives the artist a more professional look and appeal.
• drop the record label
  this piece of advice was for tech companies on the look out for capital and was made very clear in the funding panel where they stated that if you’re looking for some filthy lucre then don’t bother calling them if you deal with record labels. A big turn-off.
• bootstrap, baby
  another piece of advice for music entrepreneurs looking for cash was the fact that VC’s aren’t really interested in bleeding edge notions – good ideas with no backbone. In order to get funding for your venture, companies have to be able to self-fund for 2-3 years, create momentum, a buzz, differentiate themselves and then demonstrate that they can acquire customers. After having sold the kids, it makes you wonder why you’d need the money at that point!
• connecting with your fans – for real
  A really cool example of this is by a band called Family Of The Year. The Social Networking panel had the fortune of including one of the band members, Sebastian Keefe. Sebastian spoke of how the band has looked for different ways to engage their fans and make new ones. “If we build it they will come” is not going to work anymore (did it ever, actually?). What he described was a cool way to engage fans by sending postcards along their gig route back to fans who subscribed to their site. These postcards where also then featured on the site itself, along with the fans who received it. Nifty, I’d say. Interaction, not just one-way communication, and making your fans feel special is what it’s all about – call it the brand alignment alternative for budding, local musicians!
• don’t give up your day job
  right now, that is. With more and more digital download consumers looking for, and expecting freebies, most up and coming artists these days have to realize that they will need to give their blood, sweat and tears away for free (or as near as damn it) in order to engage and connect with their potential fan base and that may continue for a while. It sucks, I know – but think of it as speculating to accumulate. You need your audience and if you engage them, then they will work FOR you by spreading the word and creating a groundswell in your favor. Obviously, this cunning plan only works if you follow the advice given at the very top of this article. The harsh, but fair “don’t suck” mantra is not new, also having been touted by the likes of Ian Rogers over at Topspin (check ‘em out) and is the opening theme in this great article by Dave Allen, of Pampelmoose.
• make friends with the interweb
  So, on top of your day job, writing, recording, performing and then giving it away for free, you also have to engage on yet another level and delve into the geeksosphere. Whether you like it or not, artists now have to socialize on all levels and that means social networking (plus having a good website outside of MySpace). Facebook is an obvious destination for promotion and interaction and Twitter is another must, but be careful not to just sit there tweeting crap all day long. Whatever medium you choose, you have to ‘connect’. It’s not about having a pulse, it’s about being present. The top advice here is, once you have a band of followers then respond and interact when they interact with you. Loyalty will carry your brand a long way.
  Dave Allen (of Fight and Pampelmoose fame) used the term ‘fifth Beatle’, several times. It’s a task that, if done seriously and correctly (i.e., with appropriate follow-up), can and will take a lot of time. However, if your brand is good and your social media strategy has integrity then your followers will gladly work for you.
• finding out who your fans are
  OK, so let’s assume that your brand is hot and you’re blazing a social media trail of epic proportions, now what? Well, one thing you should do is devote some time to identifying who your fans are and categorize them by analyzing such things as their behavior, location, buying habits, etc. Metrics, I guess you’d call it. Yep, it’s starting to sound not a lot like making music and more like heading up a marketing department but, in essence, that’s exactly what it is. Go back to the notion that you are the brand. You have a proven following, so now use what they are telling you to further build that brand and garner more followers. It’s not that difficult a concept, really. Common sense, actually and perfect fifth Beatle fodder.

Major props to Brian Zisk and the team for supplying such a wealth of knowledge and experience. It was extremely well run and included some excellent panel sessions. I, for one, certainly appreciated the education and will definitely be going back for more.

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